A preliminary assessment of the long-term prospects for offshore wind farms in Maltese territorial waters

Abstract

Almost all of Malta's current interest in offshore wind development is focused on the development of an offshore wind farm at Sikka L-Bajda in northwest Malta by 2020, to help the country reach its mandated 2020 RES target. The offshore wind industry is rapidly gaining momentum, with larger projects in deeper waters further offshore being commissioned every year. Countries like Germany and the United Kingdom have actively constructed, or are planning to construct, offshore wind farms at transitional water depths before 2020. The offshore wind energy market has historically been restricted to the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Irish Sea in northern Europe. This geographical barrier has been overcome with the officially commissioning of a wind farm near Shanghai Bridge in China. The industry is poised to expand into the Mediterranean in 2011 with the reported commissioning of Tricase wind farm in Italy. There is significant interest in bringing offshore wind to North America, particularly in the United States.